Palin's Faith Is Seen
In Church Upbringing
By SUZANNE SATALINE
September 4, 2008; Page A6
At the Pentecostal church where Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin worshipped for more than two decades, congregants speak in tongues and are part of a faith that believes humanity is in its "end times" -- the days preceding a world-ending cataclysm bringing Christian redemption and the second coming of Jesus.
The Rev. Ed Kalnins, pastor of the Pentecostal church, Wasilla Assembly of God, says he has told church members that God put President George W. Bush in office and that America is locked in a "holy war" with terrorists.
[Gov. Palin is prayed over by Pastor Ed Kalnins and a congregation made up of nearly 20 different churches and denominations.]1
Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell's Web site
Gov. Palin, second from left, is prayed over by Pastor Ed Kalnins and a congregation made up of nearly 20 different churches and denominations at One Lord Sunday in the Mat-Su Valley, Alaska, in June.
Mr. Kalnins's views and the teachings of his church provide a glimpse of the religious upbringing of Gov. Palin, 44 years old, whose Christian credentials and antiabortion views have been lauded by social conservatives. Gov. Palin hasn't discussed her personal and spiritual beliefs since she was named to Sen. John McCain's ticket on Friday, and the campaign hasn't been eager to discuss them.
"I am not going to get into that. I think talking about where she worships today and how she characterizes herself speaks for itself about where she is today on this issue," says Maria Comella, a campaign spokeswoman.
As a junior high schooler, Gov. Palin was baptized at Wasilla Assembly of God, where she attended with her family until 2002 before joining another church, which is evangelical and nondenominational, according to Mr. Kalnins, the pastor since 1999. He said the governor has continued to visit his church for meetings and conferences.
At Mr. Kalnins's invitation, Gov. Palin appeared on stage in June before a youth group at Wassila Assembly of God, where she reminisced fondly about getting baptized there, before asking the young people to pray for a proposed natural-gas pipeline in Alaska and for American soldiers.
"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right also for this country," Gov. Palin said, in a video of the talk posted on the church's Web site. Pray "that our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure we're praying for: that there is a plan and that plan is God's plan."
David Gushee, a Christian ethicist at Mercer University in Atlanta, says he is troubled that a public official might presume that government action could be God's intent. "I would never think it is appropriate to describe the actions of the United States military or the strategies of our commanders as a plan from God," Mr. Gushee says.
Mr. Gushee says Gov. Palin should explain her beliefs concerning the inevitability of a cataclysm and the end of time. "To me, it is highly relevant to someone who potentially has her hand on the nuclear button," he says. "If that is her worldview, I would want to know about that."
The McCain campaign has said Gov. Palin was baptized as an infant in the Catholic Church and that for the last seven years, she and her family have attended the Wasilla Bible Church, a nondenominational church in Wasilla. The church is evangelical, though not Pentecostal or charismatic, and believers don't speak in tongues, said its pastor, the Rev. Larry Kroon. He described the church's teachings as "so normal." Several sermons, posted on the Internet, discuss aspects of common Christian theology, such as the significance of communion.
While in Juneau, the state capital, Gov. Palin attends the Juneau Christian Center, an Assemblies of God church, while in session, said her spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow.
At the Wasilla Assembly of God, Mr. Kalnins's predecessor, the Rev. Tim McGraw, who served until 1998, says Gov. Palin attended a "discipleship class ... to deepen her faith in Christ" and worshipped at the church at least twice a week.
The Wasilla Assembly of God and its parent denomination -- the three-million member General Council of the Assemblies of God -- espouse core beliefs not widely ascribed to by major Christian factions. Many members pray in undecipherable sounds or "tongues." The denomination's Web site says some scholars believe that the "end times" foreshadowing the end of the world was confirmed in 1948, with the founding of the state of Israel, marking the Jews' return to the Holy Land, fulfilling a Biblical prophecy. The Assemblies of God is part of a Pentecostal movement that numbers 80 million people world-wide.
The Bible, Mr. Kalnins said in an interview, foretells world events. "I don't think it's God's will to have a war," he says. But in Iraq, America is fighting an enemy that has made it a war over beliefs, he said. "I really think it is a holy war. It's a war of gods. ... When someone fights in the name of God, that becomes a holy war."
Mr. Kalnins is an enthusiastic supporter of "Governor Sarah," as he calls her, and of President George W. Bush, who, he believes, was put in office by the hand of the divine. "I believe criticisms come from hell. God has placed this man in authority. ... You criticize the authority, you're literally bringing in hell with the criticism."
Write to Suzanne Sataline at suzanne.sataline@wsj.com
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